Chapter 127: Light Ten
Zhenzhen probably didn't believe the foreign troops would ever withdraw from Shanghai. She and Chelsea seized the last few days to have a romantic relationship, completely ignoring Chu Wang and Miya. Miya was also afraid that Mrs. Ge might get excited and force her to not see Mr. Jiang for several months before the wedding, and she disappeared every few days.
Chu Wangluo enjoyed a quiet life. He would get up early every morning, open the window, and listen attentively to the newsboys outside as they pedaled by on their bicycles, shouting, "Shenbao, Shenbao!" "Shanghai News, Shanghai News!" "Shanghai News, Shanghai News!"
After a while, Suixi brought breakfast and ironed newspapers upstairs.
A star's film company offended someone, resulting in a film screening being blocked by bailiffs and forced to pay a hefty fine. A failed negotiation between two parties led to a falling out, forcing the government and courts to call in several mafia bosses... This city was far larger than she had imagined. The story unfolded endlessly into the darkness beyond, along the curve of a department store street where the trams snaked past, or along the bustling plazas outside the Grand China Hotel in Republican-era dramas. In this city where everyone loved reading, countless stories unfolded daily. Here, Chinese laws were a mere formality, while white people lived in comfort, feeling like players who had purchased the "Adventurer" adventure game, destined for eternity. And those 40,000 Chinese were merely NPCs, placed there by God for their own enjoyable adventure experience.
This was a hell for the grassroots and a paradise for the elite. This was her true hometown. No matter how deformed and weak it seemed, no matter how disheartened she felt, she could never put it behind her.
It's extremely terrifying.
He would lie in the house reading books and newspapers every few days, and only after being chased away by Mrs. Ge three times would he walk around the yard.
Her period gave her even more reason to stay in bed all day. That morning, when Suixi brought her breakfast, she was greeted by a fragrant aroma. She looked around and saw that her usual Pu'er tea had been replaced with jasmine tea, and among the various breakfast items was her favorite, Lao Dachang beef patties.
She didn't care about her stomachache, she put on her clothes and went downstairs, but she found nothing.
Mi Qiu was coming upstairs with a book under her arm. When she saw her, she and Sui Xi almost carried her back to the bed.
She asked, "Is Mr. Xie back?"
"I came back early this morning."
"Leaving again?"
"You came here as soon as you got off the boat. Perhaps you have something else to worry about?"
Upon hearing this, she rushed upstairs without stopping. Mi Qiu followed behind, unable to catch up, and kept shouting, "Girl, take it easy!"
While she was standing in the balcony garden, she happened to see Xie Zeyi driving away with his adjutant.
The newspaper was placed on the bedside table along with the book.
She sat down and picked up the newspaper. There was a message on it: "Good news! Sir Xie Hong's eldest son, Ze Yi, has been awarded the rank of Army Major and returned to Shanghai to serve as the Minister for the negotiations of the Treaty of Nanjing, the Treaty of Tianjin, and the Treaty of Humen. He will also serve as the judge for the six countries involved in the Treaty of Wangxia, the Treaty of Huangpu, and the Treaty of Shimonoseki..."
Along with the news, a serious, full-length photo appeared on the front page. In the photo, Xie Zeyi was dressed in a black military uniform that resembled a black hole. He held his military cap behind his back and looked sideways at the camera with a serious expression, not unlike the historical figures painted on the walls of the teaching building.
Sui Xi praised beside her, "Luckily, the news of Young Miss Xie's marriage was reported in newspapers early on, otherwise, I wonder how many wealthy ladies with daughters waiting to get married would be jealous."
Mi Qiu pushed her and asked, "You're still talking about 'girl' and 'girl'?"
She stared at the photo and laughed, then turned to look at the light and simple book, and suddenly exclaimed "Huh".
The English title translates to "The Old Bride" and the author's name is written as: vanirsi.
I thought it was an Italian writer, but when I opened the page, the content was still in English.
She read a few pages slowly, then got startled. Then she came to her senses and realized that si means "Si".
The story unfolds from the perspective of a young girl named "San San," spanning six years, three countries, and over ten cities. San San and her fiancé travel together, studying, enjoying life, and sharing years of companionship. Whether it's the harassing behavior of rogue border officials in China and India, the raging storms of the Red Sea, the anti-fascist uprisings in Barcelona, the fugitives fleeing around Hong Kong islands for free food and drink, or the petty disputes in Shanghai... There's no thrilling or dramatic plot twists, just the warmth and simplicity of childhood innocence, the joys of a life that barely even touches on romance.
At the end of the story, the fiancé is about to depart for the New World, and San San is about to get married. The two say goodbye with a smile at the dock. The protagonist of the story has no regrets. After reading it, the reader will feel a little lost, but will still smile knowingly after putting the book down.
Trivial things are the hardest to write and the most time-consuming.
The stories were things she had never seen before, mostly things Yan Sang had seen and heard herself; and some details and characteristics of the girl San San, such as being quiet, easily distracted, eating with both hands, sometimes liking to act mature, and being sleepy, were exactly like her.
San San is her, but also not her.
It was as if this San San really existed, and he had indeed traveled thousands of miles together to write this story.
And there she was, living it all out in the book with him.
She sighed and finally smiled.
October 24th arrived as scheduled. She could hear the newsboys shouting with joy at the hot sales of the day's newspapers upstairs. After all, Shanghai was not New York, London or Tokyo. At this moment, Shanghai was calm and stood firm in the midst of capitalism and the great tide.
The deadlocked negotiations continued into the third day.
She had nothing to do and slept at home all day as if awaiting trial. Finally, Mrs. Ge sent her out to a street to get a photo for her.
As night fell, a few street lights were lit up here and there.
As soon as she stepped out of the gate of Ge Mansion, she heard a soft whistle behind her.
When she turned around, Xie Zeyi was standing behind her, his hands in his pockets, looking at her. Noticing her looking over, he strode over to her side, and the two of them walked side by side on Park Lane, stepping on the fallen sycamore leaves.
She looked at the size of their steps and asked, "How long have you been waiting?"
"Less than a quarter of an hour."
"do what?"
"A ten-minute date, okay?"
"Why don't you come to me in the mansion? Are you afraid of getting beaten?"
Xie Zeyi calmly brushed a fallen leaf off her head, lowered his hand, and hooked her fingers together, gripping them in his. After completing this series of actions, he whispered, as if to embolden himself, "...Hmm."
She couldn't help but smile. It felt like a middle school student who was afraid of being discovered by his parents and teachers, so he had to take the opportunity to secretly have a relationship on the way home from school.
He hadn't even had time to take off his uniform, and she was wearing only a long woolen skirt with her coat draped over her shoulders. They walked hand in hand, brazenly in combat boots and high heels, under the streetlights. No wonder passersby whispered behind them, "This is indecent."
Little did people know that she had so many scandals before she even got married that even her own father criticized her in the newspaper. She had already damaged the morals of women in the Republic of China in newspapers of all sizes.
She was honest and upright, and had nothing to fear. But since she had Mr. Xie, she couldn't help but worry that he would feel bad after hearing the rumors.
He came and left without a word that day, leaving behind only a book. Although she couldn't figure out whether it was a question, she felt that she should defend herself.
"I have finished reading the book you brought."
"Yeah. I flipped through it once when I got back on the boat. Then I realized it couldn't be you, so I didn't read it again."
"It's not. It's a good story, and the characters are lovable." She could understand why he didn't write in Chinese. The writing environment in China was one reason, and he didn't want to leave room for criticism from those who knew her well at this critical juncture of her marriage.
Perhaps he just wanted to say goodbye to that "San San" seriously.
Xie Zeyi stopped and asked her, "Do you want to go and say goodbye to him?"
She suddenly didn't know what to say.
Xie Zeyi added, "The world has changed."
She immediately understood what he meant. With the situation in New York changing, he might face a difficult time if he went there now. But if she tried to persuade him, was she asking him to stay and attend their wedding?
Her personality of avoiding trivialities of life, which she had brought with her since her mother's womb, made her not want to think about this problem at the moment.
She remembered that he had said on the day he left, "He would find a solution for the institute," so she hinted, "Thank you, Sir, for your foresight."
Xie Zeyi looked at her with a strange expression for a while, then slowly said, "What if Mr. Xie is just like his father, unable to distinguish right from wrong and always regards money as the right path? What should we do then?"
She thought seriously for a while: "I can trick Mr. Xie into investing all his wealth with me and make Northwest China bigger!"
Xie Zeyi stared at her and smiled.
Then she sighed again, "No."
He lowered his head and asked, "What's wrong?"
"I'm going crazy alone, how can I drag others along with me?"
He caught the word, "What do you mean by others?"
She was just about to say: People outside the institute.
Xie Zeyi suddenly laughed and said, "Mrs. Xie's Chinese has declined."
She looked up with a puzzled look on her face.
"Even I know there's a word called 'husband'."
She was stunned.
Xie Zeyi looked at her and smiled.
The nonexistent marriage certificate and the unfinished marriage often made her forget her relationship with Xie Zeyi.
It seems that, as Mrs. Ge said, women are ritual animals. Without any ritual, they feel that no matter what happens in the future, it will not be officially happened.
But at this moment, she truly realized: this man is her legal husband.
Her face turned red instantly.
Xie Zeyi took her hand and brought her to his side, then lowered his head and kissed her on the cheek.
Passersby on bicycles rang their bells several times in protest.
He whispered in her ear, "It's impossible for the British to selflessly sacrifice themselves just because of a few words from me. I also forgive that most of Xie Zeyi, who was born and raised in another country, still doesn't make decisions entirely from a Chinese perspective." Then he added, almost forcefully, "But Mr. Xie just wants to tell you. Please trust him. He will do his best."
Chu Wang felt a surge of emotion in his arms.
She used to often wonder, was this place in 1929 really her hometown?
The world in this terrible era was completely unfamiliar to her. She had no confidants, no one with whom she could empathize.
Sometimes when she woke up, she always felt that the cars were flowing like water and the horses were like dragons, the flowers and the moon were in the spring breeze, and she seemed to be strolling in Shangyuan Garden.
Is this my hometown?
If not, but the bright moon over the cold thousands of mountains in Huainan is here, the place where you can enjoy yourself with jade bridles and carved saddles is here, and the sound of the Qiang flute and the frost covering the ground is also here; no matter what sounds are heard from the border or what dynasties change, this is my eternal home and country thousands of miles away.
Therefore, she can also understand that a person will recognize the place where he was born and educated, and he will be familiar and accustomed to everything there: the accent, the taste of food, and all the historical knowledge instilled in school; he will understand the deep emotions of humanities books, and can respond with butthy voice when the word anthology is mentioned.
She had once been very close to love.
The Chinese-German-Romanian mixed-race boy would shyly call her "my Chinese girl" in front of others, invite her to the newly opened Chinese restaurant in Chinatown to eat cross-bridge rice noodles, and was even willing to accompany her to KTV to sing a whole set of boring songs.
But once, when she mentioned graduation and wanted to return to China, he asked in astonishment, "You don't want to get a green card?"
Only then did she burst out laughing.
She had thought he was at least half Chinese, but she didn't expect him to be fully American.
She really wanted to ask him: "What's wrong with China? Why don't you go there?"
But she couldn't whip out a joke in just a few words that would make everyone want an "a!"
When Chinese people get off the plane abroad, they head straight for a Chinese restaurant. Unless they're truly desperate, why would they be willing to leave their homeland with everything they have and then turn around and say the moon is rounder in foreign countries than in China?
She also wanted someone to sing along with her when she occasionally listened to "My beauty in the east, the Yellow River in the west."
So what is so good about Mr. Xie?
He is good in every way.
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